About

Master of Spies is an easy to learn card game that's played with a poker-sized deck of cards and two to three friends. It was created in the spirit of classic card games like Rook* and Mille Bornes*. Each turn presents a new puzzle as you navigate the varying cards in your hand to the ever-changing landscape of the game, trying to outwit your opponents and place your agents in the most valuable and sensitive locations. Each Faction has beautiful, unique artwork for all the courtly cards created by local New England illustrators.

This game is the first of many that will be in our "Eldinar" series, set in a fantastical realm that will be explored through many different styles of games.

Learning the game only takes minutes, and once you know it, teaching it takes half as long. The rules of the game are straightforward, with interesting quirks thrown in that mix the game up in unexpected ways. Master of Spies has a small footprint, being slightly larger than a traditional poker deck, both in terms of card count and box size. With 54 cards (2 Turn Order/Special Action cards, 4 Starter cards and 48 playing cards), along with a handful of chits are everything you need to play!

Tactical Game-play - Each turn in Master of Spies is a puzzle, where you do your best to use every card as optimally as possible. You'll have to use every bit of info you have to play the best possible card per turn, every turn.

So how do you play Master of Spies? Curious how the game works? Check out our How To Play video HERE! You can also download the rules here.

We've had many successful play-tests with people ranging in age from 10 to 80 years old with almost entirely positive feedback. In fact one recent play-tester commented that the game had an "Old World" feel to it, like something Renaissance Italians would have played. He also added that it seemed like the kind of game that would be played again and again by groups of long time friends. A couple of more jovial players commented that "You can play it and teach it while drunk." We'll take that as a compliment to Master of Spies ease of play.

Here's what some of our more notable play-testers had to say about it:

Elaine Cunningham, celebrated Fantasy Novelist who has written many novels set in the worlds of the "Forgotten Realms", "Star Wars" & "Pathfinder", said: "It's a good game--fast and interactive, easy to learn."

Frank Mentzer, RPG legend and author of the Dungeons & Dragons Red Box and co-author with Gary Gygax on the Temple of Elemental Evil said: "Very solid family game with appeal for Gamers."

We have 9 Backer Levels available for this campaign:

$1 -THE DABBLER:
THANK YOU! you will receive updates and behind the scenes content about the project.

$14 -THE AGENT:
You get one physical copy of the game.

$20 -THE MASTER COLLECTOR:
You get 4 Black & White portraits of all of the four Factions Royal Court (16 in total) on 8.5" x 11" heavy stock paper, printed on an actual printing press. No photo copies here!

$250 -THE MASTER SPY (SOLD OUT!) Get your name and face (or slightly modified versions of them) on the Master Spy card (the highest valued card in the game) for one of the four Factions, done in character by the artist who drew the Courts. This level also includes THE AGENT and THE MASTER COLLECTOR backer levels plus a 8"x10" photographic print of the card with your likeness on it.

The world of Eldinar is a fantasy realm rich in history and culture. Players will be able to explore many aspects of this world through Master of Spies and other Move Rate 20 Games in development for the "Eldinar Game" series. Our future games will include different styles of games that will also use the colorful backdrop of Eldinar as a unifying theme.

In Eldinar there are four powerful Factions, each ruling a separate kingdom. As a player in Master of Spies, you are a Spymaster working for one of those Factions, maneuvering your agents through the most powerful port cities and seeking to place them in the royal courts of each Faction, even your own.

The Factions:

The Draken Empire is the youngest of the 4 kingdoms, a culture that worships power and strength over all things. The Draken broke away from the Kingdom of Palamire and their constant following of divine traditions and holy strictures that promoted the weak over the strong.

The Kingdom of Palamire was founded by the hero Palamire the Great, who led his people, the Kells, to a verdant, green land after shaking loose the bonds of the Dragon Lords centuries ago. Bound by strict codes of honor and religious beliefs, the Kingdom of Palamire is biding its time to start a crusade to spread the word of the White Wind to all the kingdoms of men.

It is said that Eldinar was created by the dragons as a roost to rest their wings while flying between worlds. Regardless of the truth of that belief, the Dragon Lords did rule over Eldinar for ages untold, creating the race of men as servants. Eventually the Dragons vanished or went into hibernation and the Dragon Lords retreated into the vast forest at the heart of their empire. Recently though, they have become active again and there is a rumor that one of the Dragons has returned.

South of the Kingdom of Palamire, the tribe of men known as the Vanzi migrated to the desert scrub lands and established trading cities, mining for rare ores and precious gems. The Free City States are composed of 7 of the largest trade centers ruled by 12 Guilds. The people of the Free City States prize wealth, invention and knowledge over all else.

We're estimating a September 2016 delivery. We've been discussing our production needs with Ad Magic and have been very happy with the communication, manufacturing timelines, and production quality they provide. As with any Kickstarter, snags can develop as well as issues that are outside our realm of influence. If anything delays production or shipment, we will be up front about it.

Move Rate 20 Games LLC is a new startup gaming company formed from a group of lifelong gaming fans who decided to turn that love into an active participation in the gaming industry.
Rob and Steve R. have known each other for years through Rob’s gaming store, Rivendell Books & Games and a shared love of board, card and role-playing games.
Steve P. and Steve R. met while working for a home improvement retailer and soon found they were the only “gamer geeks” in the office. A fast friendship was formed.
James came into the fold through Rob and Steve R. as a fellow collectible card game fan and board gamer.
Back in Fall of 2013 Steve R. presented his idea for a card game to Rob and Steve P. to develop, with a goal of having a working prototype ready to present at Total Con 2015. Despite the ups and downs that come with designing a game from scratch they had not only one, but two prototype games ready to play-test at Total Con. Master of Spies was the second game that sprouted and took the lead in development.

If we reach this level of backing we will include in all copies of the game an extra 12 cards that add more ways to thwart and frustrate your opponent's plans, and defend against their machinations against you.

Once we reach the $10K Stretch Goal, the $15K Reward will be revealed.

*Rook and Mille Bornes are trademarked by Hasbro

Risks and challenges

Many of the risks and challenges stem from production and shipping. We have properly calculated and compensated for these two things to ensure that our backers will get their custom decks in a timely manner.

We will be using Ad Magic to manufacture the game and fulfillment will be done through our own sweat equity. Of course, if there any issues throughout the project, we will inform you in a timely manner and will find a way to deliver as promised.

Production and shipping to us should take approximately 12 weeks, given there are no intervening holidays. Fulfillment will take 2-3 weeks.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $20 or more
About $20

THE MASTER COLLECTOR:
You get 4 Black & White portraits of all of the four Factions Royal Court (16 in total) on 8.5" x 11" heavy stock paper, printed on an actual printing press. No photo copies here! Suitable for framing.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

THE MASTER SPY:
Get your name and face (or slightly modified versions of them) on the Master Spy card (the highest valued card in the game) for one of the four Factions, done in character by the artist who drew the Courts. This level also includes THE AGENT and THE MASTER COLLECTOR backer levels plus a 8"x10" photographic print of the card with your likeness on it. (We may change your name and likeness slightly to better fit the fantasy world of Eldinar that we are building.)